I've actually had these gloves for a little while now, but I wanted to get a little bit of experience riding with them before I wrote a review.

I tend to go through summer gloves every other year or so - I just wear them out, with bits of fabric coming apart, and the gloves just giving up. Which makes sense, as most of my riding is done in summer.

My cold and moderate weather gloves are heavily armored, with cuffs, armor on knuckles and palms, and made of thick leather. When it came to summer gloves, I tended to go with comfort over safety - I just couldn't bear wearing thick leather gloves in hot weather. So I ended up with short mesh gloves with minimal protection.

This time I decided I wanted something different. I had looked at a previous version of the Rev'It Sand gloves, and had almost bought them - but when I saw the new Sand 3 that was to come out this spring, I decided to wait. I ordered them back in February, and received this pair in March when they first came out.

The gloves are composite - with mesh on top, leather on the palm and fingers, and tough TPR (thermoplastic rubber - flexible, shock-absorbing plastic) armor on the knuckles. The TPR armor allows air to flow through to the mesh underneath, to keep your hands cool.

Looking at the palm, you can see the stitched leather as well as the TPR over the metatarsal bone.

The large, flexible TPR over the knuckles flows a lot of air. Additional TPR armor on two places on each finger allows for impact and abrasion resistance.

More TPR and leather on the thumb helps when sliding. Additional leather stitched across the base of the fingers helps with abrasion resistance. The leather on the fingers is double-stitched. Visible at the top are the two pieces of TPR on the pinky finger, to protect against abrasion.

The short cuff protects your wrist without becoming too hot, and can easily be tucked INSIDE your jacket, to allow cooling air to enter your sleeve. The wrist closure has yet another piece of TPR, with strong velcro. My favorite feature: the orange pull-tab, making it easy to pull the gloves on, even with a gloved hand.

The fit of this glove is snug. I wear a large in virtually every glove, and this one is no different. The large glove fit me perfectly, with no extra space at the end of the fingers. The fingers are pre-curved, so they don't need much in the way of breaking in.

Many gloves concentrate their armor on the knuckles, but when it comes to crashing, you naturally try to put your hands out to protect yourself in the fall, which means you impact and slide on your palms - where many gloves skimp or completely omit any protection. The Sand 3 glove has a thick layer of TPR to protect against impact and abrasion. The two outer TPR nodes on the pinky finger are also visible.

The TPR over the distal joint of the thumb is also thick and enlarged for impact and abrasion protection.

Squeezing your fist, you can see how the TPR spreads apart, exposing the underlying mesh, but retaining its protection why doing so. It looks like stiff plastic, but it is quite pliable, yet tough.

The transition from mesh to leather is at the middle finger joint, and has two leather bands that expand when you clench your fist.

The business end of the palm has an extra layer of padded leather for comfort and wear resistance. While it looks like the seams might be uncomfortable, you actually can't feel it at all while riding.

The outer shell of the gloves is an air-stretch mesh on top, goatskin palm, with PRW shell 500D and Automan stretch fabric in other non-critical parts, both of which flow air into the glove. The lining is a comfortable yet cool tri-fleece liner.

So...how does it feel? It's fantastic! I have to say this is my new favorite glove, it's by far the most comfortable glove I own. It does not flow quite as much air as my old no-cuff all-mesh gloves, and I suspect they will be marginally warmer in summer as a result. They are also usable in lower temperatures than my old summer gloves for the same reason. I have worn these gloves in complete comfort from 80 degrees down to 45 degrees (at 45 they were a bit cool, and I switched to warmer gloves as the temperature dropped). I have about 700 miles on these gloves, and they are still just as comfortable. No break-in period was needed, they fit right from the very start. Apparently they will operate touch screen devices, if you care to make phone calls while riding your motorcycle. I don't, and I haven't tested this ability.

There is only one feature missing from them that I wish they did have, and this is something I have not seen on many gloves: webbing between the fourth and fifth fingers. This prevents your pinky finger from being bent outward and possibly broken or sprained during a crash, as the webbing restricts how far laterally the finger can be bent.

I'll report back throughout the year as I use them and let you know if I come up against any issues or problems with them.

I've now finished the riding season with these gloves, and I have to say I LOVE them! By far the best riding gloves I've ever worn. They are not too hot in summer, product excellent protection, and actually are usable in weather quite a bit more cooler than my old summer gloves. I'm sold!

I ended up getting a pair a few months ago and have to agree they're probably the best gloves I've had. They performed well in the heat of the summer here in Florida. Lately we've had a couple of cool days (in the low 40's is cold for us) and I've used the gloves to ride to work. They do well in the cooler temperatures too.